R.D. Vallier's Blog, page 4
December 20, 2016
Sick, giveaway
Sick, sick, sick. I’ve been catching everything this season, it seems. At least I’ve gotten a lot of reading in, if not much else. The giveaway is ending next week. No wildlife this time, thanks to the constant pounding in my head. Now to crawl back beneath the comforter...
December 7, 2016
Homestead Woes
Homestead woes: Waking up to 19 degree weather, and finding the outhouse seats frozen. Ack!
December 1, 2016
Delano’s Territory. Road Trip in Photos #3
This is a fraction of my writing references, and I mostly stuck to areas in book 2 (and in Darkshine, for that matter). Although, I might have to shuffle things around and take a few, tiny artistic liberties for pacing (sorry!). This trip was probably unnecessary. My memory was crisp, and I dealt with heart-wrenching homesickness for the granite and cedars. There’s just something about this place. Add a soundtrack of 90s alternative, NIN and Sisters of Mercy, and you have a glimpse into my teen years. Anyway, enough reminiscing. Onwards...
Hm. Where to camp? Where to camp?
About the 2,000’ elevation range.
Tree full of shoes, enjoying the rest of their lives with a great view.
Out of sugar, Delano? The closest market is in Strawberry. Don’t blink, you’ll miss it. Sonora is the closest “big” town.
Pinecones are much larger in the Sierra Nevada compared to Appalachia Ohio.
Lake in Pinecrest, near the region of the Realm consulate and entrance.
Plot item.
The water has receded. A lot. Hm. You’d think there was a drought or something...
*Snort!*
Time to hunt rebels...
One side:
The other side:
Here’s a few shots of the territory’s higher elevations. They won’t be in Dark Ember (except mentioned in passing, unless I cut it), but they are my personal favorite. The trees get shorter, more scraggily. The rocks rule.
And this is on the very far end of his territory, in Murphys. Not in Dark Ember, but I love the town and almost bought property here several years ago. Lower elevation. Mostly oaks.
I love this shop!! ^^^ Great for picking up home hardwares ...
...and some items for a craft project.
Next we picked up the yurt and drove home. That post will finish off the trip. :)
Hm. Where to camp? Where to camp?
About the 2,000’ elevation range.
Tree full of shoes, enjoying the rest of their lives with a great view.
Out of sugar, Delano? The closest market is in Strawberry. Don’t blink, you’ll miss it. Sonora is the closest “big” town.
Pinecones are much larger in the Sierra Nevada compared to Appalachia Ohio.
Lake in Pinecrest, near the region of the Realm consulate and entrance.
Plot item.
The water has receded. A lot. Hm. You’d think there was a drought or something...
*Snort!*
Time to hunt rebels...
One side:
The other side:
Here’s a few shots of the territory’s higher elevations. They won’t be in Dark Ember (except mentioned in passing, unless I cut it), but they are my personal favorite. The trees get shorter, more scraggily. The rocks rule.
And this is on the very far end of his territory, in Murphys. Not in Dark Ember, but I love the town and almost bought property here several years ago. Lower elevation. Mostly oaks.
I love this shop!! ^^^ Great for picking up home hardwares ...
...and some items for a craft project.
Next we picked up the yurt and drove home. That post will finish off the trip. :)
November 26, 2016
New Giveaway. USA, CA
I launched another Giveaway for USA & Canada. :) (I can't believe I've been forgetting about Canada! Sorry, Canada. It's not you. I'm just a ditz at times.) Two signed and illustrated, because I like to punish myself. hehe. Here's the link:
November 18, 2016
Road Trip in Photos, Part 2 of 4 (Photo Heavy)
The road trip is done, and I suspect Enterprise Car Rental might reconsider their free unlimited mileage. We clocked 3,027 miles this round. Here is part 2. I expect 4 blog posts, total.
You know you’re pulling long days when your two year old hands you a Redbull and says: “Mama’s baba.”
I love staying at Nevada casinos because when insomnia beats me up at 1:00am, I’m only an elevator ride from a 24-hour 1950s diner to work. Check out the tabletop jukeboxes!
Excuse my finger. I’m a horrible photographer. I know this. It’s probably a good thing Instagram says my phone is too decrepit for their service.
Calaveras County.
Oh, look! We made it to “Delano’s territory.” (Well, the part where most of book 2 takes place, anyway). We camped here for a few days and I took a lot of reference photos. I’ll sort through them and make a separate post for that, as well as picking up the yurt and the mad dash home. But for now, the rest of my life calls...
You know you’re pulling long days when your two year old hands you a Redbull and says: “Mama’s baba.”
I love staying at Nevada casinos because when insomnia beats me up at 1:00am, I’m only an elevator ride from a 24-hour 1950s diner to work. Check out the tabletop jukeboxes!
Excuse my finger. I’m a horrible photographer. I know this. It’s probably a good thing Instagram says my phone is too decrepit for their service.
Calaveras County.
Oh, look! We made it to “Delano’s territory.” (Well, the part where most of book 2 takes place, anyway). We camped here for a few days and I took a lot of reference photos. I’ll sort through them and make a separate post for that, as well as picking up the yurt and the mad dash home. But for now, the rest of my life calls...
November 10, 2016
Road Trip in Pictures (Ongoing...)
Cue my favorite Johnny Cash song: “I was toting my pack along a dusty Winnemucca road...”
My husband is awesome, by the way. With him transcribing while I drive, I have caught up with a week’s worth of writing I lost. My toddler has been a rockstar, too.
To be continued...
October 31, 2016
Long-ish Post. News. Travel. Book 2 Progress, Off-Grid Homestead
I recently got back from one of my best trips, ever, and I’m seriously behind. First, News:
Darkshine is on a $0.99 countdown deal until 11/7. www.tinyurl.com/darkshine
Near Spokane? On November 5th I’ll be at Auntie’s Bookstore from 1:30-3:30, doing a signing and an author meet & greet. Come on by, no obligation, just to chat. Seriously. I watch a 2 year old 24/7 and would love some adult conversation. I even made my first ever flier. :) Not bad for 25 minutes, a clingy toddler, and a crappy art program.
Plus, Aunties is an awesome indy Bookstore. Even if you don’t get to my event, I highly suggest checking them out for the experience alone. http://www.auntiesbooks.com
It looks like Barnes & Noble in N. Spokane is arranging something, too, but I don’t have details yet.
Travel:
I might post about my recent trip later (which included the best hostel, ever. I still can’t get over the food they had available for free, donated daily from Whole Foods and Panera, and an amazing kitchen to cook it all in. A lovely private room with all these goodies was only $25/night!)
Immediately after the Auntie’s Book signing, I will be driving to central California to pick up a yurt. If you’re not familiar with yurts, they’re Mongolian huts. Here’s a photo:
This will be our temporary bedroom area until our son is a little bit older. We just have way too much on our plate to battle his two-ness while building, and everything else.
What’s great, is the guy who manufactured our yurt lives in “Delano’s territory,” (basically, Stanislaus National Forest + ). I lived for years outside that area, but it has been years and my brain is rusty. I’m excited to go back and take a bunch of photos and notes. I have to keep most of Book 2’s story on the lower elevations for plot pacing reasons, so the weather shouldn’t be a problem. If you are ever in the area, however, I suggest visiting the higher elevations. They’re gorgeous! Sonora Pass is one of the most beautiful drives in the country, in my opinion, and worth the trek if it is open.
Book 2 Progress:
Well, I didn’t meet my October goal for Book 2, Dark Ember. I’m about 6 weeks behind schedule thanks to life. But, I like how it is coming along. The story is nothing like what I expected when I started it, and I am hopeful the surprises I have gotten also get delivered to the reader. I also had a theme pop up that I was not expecting. I could brush over it--and I am tempted to because it is so screwy from what I am comfortable with--but I think that will be a disservice to the story. So, I will swallow my fear and plow forward, and hope I don’t jack it up. The book also looks like it will be about the same length as Darkshine. I was expecting it shorter when I started, but nope. 88K word seems to be my average story idea length.
The Off-Grid Homestead:
I need to get photos. The problem is I get up when it is dark to get my stuff done, then when light appears I am watching the kiddo and completely forget. While I was gone, my husband started the greenhouse (which, I have learned, will technically be an atrium. Ooo. Sounds so much fancier! haha). I now have a roof that connects the kitchen to the shower, which is great, since it’s been cold and pouring. The yurt will give us some bedrooms. We now have a working sink, and we decided on a composting toilet, which we pick up on Tuesday (with a great deal! yay! Goodbye, outhouse.). I will hopefully have my fancy shmancy refrigerator before next year. We are still undecided how to handle the cookstove/oven. But right now our wood burner for heat works fine, so I may not worry about that until the weather warms up.
Our house design works great, too. With just a few pieces of scrap wood we’ve been able to get the house heated to 100 degrees with it being 38 outside. (It was horribly sweltering, we were just seeing what was possible). It’s holding temperature well, and without any assistance it doesn’t dip below 55.
Okay, there’s so much more, but I’ve rambled enough.
Darkshine is on a $0.99 countdown deal until 11/7. www.tinyurl.com/darkshine
Near Spokane? On November 5th I’ll be at Auntie’s Bookstore from 1:30-3:30, doing a signing and an author meet & greet. Come on by, no obligation, just to chat. Seriously. I watch a 2 year old 24/7 and would love some adult conversation. I even made my first ever flier. :) Not bad for 25 minutes, a clingy toddler, and a crappy art program.
Plus, Aunties is an awesome indy Bookstore. Even if you don’t get to my event, I highly suggest checking them out for the experience alone. http://www.auntiesbooks.com
It looks like Barnes & Noble in N. Spokane is arranging something, too, but I don’t have details yet.
Travel:
I might post about my recent trip later (which included the best hostel, ever. I still can’t get over the food they had available for free, donated daily from Whole Foods and Panera, and an amazing kitchen to cook it all in. A lovely private room with all these goodies was only $25/night!)
Immediately after the Auntie’s Book signing, I will be driving to central California to pick up a yurt. If you’re not familiar with yurts, they’re Mongolian huts. Here’s a photo:
This will be our temporary bedroom area until our son is a little bit older. We just have way too much on our plate to battle his two-ness while building, and everything else.
What’s great, is the guy who manufactured our yurt lives in “Delano’s territory,” (basically, Stanislaus National Forest + ). I lived for years outside that area, but it has been years and my brain is rusty. I’m excited to go back and take a bunch of photos and notes. I have to keep most of Book 2’s story on the lower elevations for plot pacing reasons, so the weather shouldn’t be a problem. If you are ever in the area, however, I suggest visiting the higher elevations. They’re gorgeous! Sonora Pass is one of the most beautiful drives in the country, in my opinion, and worth the trek if it is open.
Book 2 Progress:
Well, I didn’t meet my October goal for Book 2, Dark Ember. I’m about 6 weeks behind schedule thanks to life. But, I like how it is coming along. The story is nothing like what I expected when I started it, and I am hopeful the surprises I have gotten also get delivered to the reader. I also had a theme pop up that I was not expecting. I could brush over it--and I am tempted to because it is so screwy from what I am comfortable with--but I think that will be a disservice to the story. So, I will swallow my fear and plow forward, and hope I don’t jack it up. The book also looks like it will be about the same length as Darkshine. I was expecting it shorter when I started, but nope. 88K word seems to be my average story idea length.
The Off-Grid Homestead:
I need to get photos. The problem is I get up when it is dark to get my stuff done, then when light appears I am watching the kiddo and completely forget. While I was gone, my husband started the greenhouse (which, I have learned, will technically be an atrium. Ooo. Sounds so much fancier! haha). I now have a roof that connects the kitchen to the shower, which is great, since it’s been cold and pouring. The yurt will give us some bedrooms. We now have a working sink, and we decided on a composting toilet, which we pick up on Tuesday (with a great deal! yay! Goodbye, outhouse.). I will hopefully have my fancy shmancy refrigerator before next year. We are still undecided how to handle the cookstove/oven. But right now our wood burner for heat works fine, so I may not worry about that until the weather warms up.
Our house design works great, too. With just a few pieces of scrap wood we’ve been able to get the house heated to 100 degrees with it being 38 outside. (It was horribly sweltering, we were just seeing what was possible). It’s holding temperature well, and without any assistance it doesn’t dip below 55.
Okay, there’s so much more, but I’ve rambled enough.
October 21, 2016
Traveling Readers
I’ve had a crazy two weeks, full of husband work issues that have kept me off-line, and a truck axel breaking, keeping me stranded on the homesite. I will be on vacation and unavailable until the 27th. However, I will be in and out of many airports in that time, and I will be leaving Darkshine copies at airports during my layovers, like the one above. I’m hoping the book will get another layer of adventure on top of its written adventure. :) This one will be plopped in Phoenix, AZ.
October 11, 2016
Winners
Congrats to Daleine and Erin for winning the giveaway. :) My travel plans got postponed (boo!), so I will get your copies out today. (yay!)
October 10, 2016
.
Tee-hee! Now I am just having fun with these doodles and designs...
Goodreads USA giveaway ends tonight at midnight.
